fills in

verb

present tense third-person singular of fill in
1
as in informs
to give information to my friend quickly filled me in on the portion of the movie that I had missed

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in substitutes
to serve as a replacement usually for a time only she's only filling in while the regular secretary is on vacation

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fills in This is the language the show has used thus far, in that Hal often comes to conclusions and fills in the gaps for us after the fact. — Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 28 Sep. 2026 But the clever props design (Bruce Dickinson and Anna Kraus) fills in any shoestring gaps. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026 Hydrolyzed keratin, meanwhile, fills in the gaps in the cuticle by improving elasticity and damage caused by daily styling, heat, and environmental stressors. — Madison San Miguel, Allure, 5 Sep. 2026 The movie fills in the backstory of this slow-motion trauma in a way that feels wrenchingly lifelike. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026 The rest of the weekend fills in around them through much smaller moments. — Svetlana Khachiyan, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026 Reseeding fills in those gaps before bare patches take hold, which is also crucial because bare soil serves as prime real estate for weeds looking to move in uncontested. — Amanda Tust, Architectural Digest, 7 Aug. 2026 The camera's image processor takes this data and creates a color image using a technique called demosaicing, which fills in missing color by interpolating information from the surrounding pixels. — Jim Fisher, PC Magazine, 31 July 2026 Her brother, Tunji, fills in the British blanks for her, but life in Lagos was a time of playing on swings and watching her brother kick a ball with his friends. — Riann Phillip, Vogue, 15 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fills in
  1. informs
  2. substitutes
  3. tells
  4. stands in
  5. advises
  6. takes over
  7. briefs
Verb
  • That refusal to judge also informs Coon’s broader approach to acting.
    — Katherine Brodsky, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Livia’s unease informs her skepticism of politics; in linking the two, Kingsolver conflates class and culture, using the former as an excuse for what really just seems to be Livia’s constitutional conservatism.
    — Sam Worley, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of informs
Verb
  • This approach substitutes information for sensation, and reduces both human and supra-human experiences to the level of data.
    — Robert Rubsam, The Atlantic, 20 July 2026
  • So Tuchel, who always substitutes his wingers after roughly an hour, decided to withdraw Gordon and bring on an extra defender, Ezri Konsa.
    — Michael Cox, New York Times, 16 July 2026
Definition of substitutes
Verb
  • The film, billed as a biographical dramedy, tells the story of a chaotic boardroom crisis at OpenAI in November 2023, when co-founder Altman was fired and then re-hired at the AI giant.
    — Abid Rahman, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Ilya is looking for work as an assistant, and the professor, with his dandyish nerd arrogance, tells him to look at a paper he’s written and come back in a few days.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of tells
Verb
  • Medical group opposition Even before the first lethal injection was carried out, the American Medical Association said physicians shouldn’t participate, and that ban stands in the group’s Code of Medical Ethics.
    — Meg Tirrell, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Raman’s questionnaire stands in contrast with those of some of her DSA colleagues.
    — David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of stands in
Verb
  • For other companies seeking to improve socio-economic mobility, Ellis advises collecting data and improving awareness first before introducing new schemes.
    — Sam Birchall, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The most revealing moment at the Monaco Yacht Show may be the one in which someone advises a prospective client to walk away.
    — Christoph Lymbersky, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of advises
Verb
  • Baiz takes over for longtime ARC head coach Jon Osterhout, now the assistant athletic director and chief of staff of Sacramento State’s football program, his alma mater.
    — JOE DAVIDSON, Sacbee.com, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Lee Munn takes over as Southlake Carroll’s first new head coach since 2018, replacing Riley Dodge and inheriting a program still chasing its first state title since 2011.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of takes over
Verb
  • The Navy regularly briefs Courtney on classified matters in his position as ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee’s Seapower subcommittee, which oversees the country’s top defense priority, the Columba ballistic missile submarines built by Electric Boat in Groton.
    — Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 18 Jan. 2026
  • The trailer immediately briefs fans that season 10 is going to be an emotional rollercoaster.
    — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Jan. 2026
Definition of briefs

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Cite this Entry

“Fills in.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fills%20in. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

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